When the Minnesota Vikings hired defensive coordinator Brian Flores, a massive scheme shift was coming their way. They went from being super conservative to incredibly aggressive.
In week three against the Los Angeles Chargers, they blitzed an astounding 82% of the time, which was the second-highest rate ever in the Next Gen Stats era. Against the Panthers, they went the opposite direction blitzing him only 30.8% of the time according to ESPN Stats and Info. On the season, the Vikings had been blitzing more than 60% of the time.
The idea of blitzing a rookie quarterback is two fold. You can blitz him to oblivion and make him panic in the pocket, but risk a mobile quarterback being able to evade the blitz and make plays down the field.
The other idea here is to play coverage and force him to read the defense quickly. That’s what Flores did and it worked out well. Young wasn’t trusting what he saw down the field and it paid dividends for the Vikings.
How will Flores handle Patrick Mahomes next Sunday? Will he choose to blitz him like he did Herbert or stay home like he did against Bryce Young? That chess match will be an interesting one to watch.
